Snowmass2021 - Letter of Interest - A deci-Hz Gravitational-Wave Lunar Observatory for Cosmology
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Snowmass2021 - Letter of Interest
A deci-Hz Gravitational-Wave Lunar Observatory for
Cosmology
Thematic Areas: (check all that apply /)
(CF1) Dark Matter: Particle Like
(CF2) Dark Matter: Wavelike
(CF3) Dark Matter: Cosmic Probes
(CF4) Dark Energy and Cosmic Acceleration: The Modern Universe
(CF5) Dark Energy and Cosmic Acceleration: Cosmic Dawn and Before
(CF6) Dark Energy and Cosmic Acceleration: Complementarity of Probes and New Facilities
(CF7) Cosmic Probes of Fundamental Physics
(Other) [Please specify frontier/topical group]
Contact Information:
Karan Jani (Vanderbilt University) [karan.jani@vanderbilt.edu]
Authors (full list with affiliations after the text):
Karan Jani, Abraham Loeb, Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, Manuel Arca Sedda, Nicola Bartolo, Nicola
Bellomo, Daniele Bertacca, Stéphane Blondin, Florian Beutle, Ofek Birnholtz , Béatrice Bonga , Marica
Branchesi, Laurentiu Caramete, Pedro R. Capelo, David Chernoff, Carmelita Carbone, Jose A. R.
Cembranos, Katy Clough, Geoffrey Compère, Giuseppe Congedo, Andrea Derdzinski, Daniela Doneva,
Xiao Fang, Daniel Felea, Pedro G. Ferreira, Robert Fisher, Noemi Frusciante, Mandeep S.S. Gill, Chris
Gordon, Jan Harms, Lavinia Heisenberg, Daniel Holz, Philippe Jetzer, Albert Kong, Savvas M.
Koushiappas, Ryan N. Lang, Jacob Lange, Michele Liguori, Lucas Lombriser, Sabino Matarrese,
Charalampos Markakis, Sean McGee, Eugenio Megı́as, Cole Miller, David F. Mota, David Neilsen, Savvas
Nesseris, Giorgio Orlando, Antonella Palmese, George Pappas, Vasileios Paschalidis, John Quenb, Ashley
J Ruiter, Sébastien Renaux-Petel, Milton Ruiz, Martin Sahlén, Mairi Sakellariadou, B.S. Sathyaprakash,
Olga Sergijenko, Sarah Shandera, Lijing Shao, Deirdre Shoemaker, Nikolaos Stergioulas, Arthur Suvorov,
Obinna Umeh, Elias C. Vagenas, Yu-Dai Tsai, Alasdair Taylor, James Annis, Stoytcho Yazadjiev, Petruta
Stefanescu, Saurya Das, Ovidiu Tintareanu-Mircea, Miguel Zumalacarregui, Leon Vida, N. Paul M. Kuin
Abstract: We are proposing Gravitational-wave Lunar Observatory for Cosmology (GLOC) [1] – a first
of its kind fundamental physics experiment on the surface of the Moon. The experiment would access
gravitational-waves (GWs) in the frequency range of deci-Hz to 5 Hz, a challenging regime for all Earth-
based detectors and space missions. We find that such a lunar-based experiment can survey & 70% of
the observable volume of our universe without significant background contamination. This unprecedented
sensitivity makes GLOC a powerful cosmic probe for Dark Energy, Dark Matter and physics beyond the
Standard Model. In particular, it will independently trace the Hubble expansion rate up to redshift z ∼ 3,
provide the strongest limits on the sub-solar Dark Matter candidates and test ΛCDM cosmology up to
z ∼ 100. Furthermore, it will have a unique access to GWs from Type Ia supernovae, thus aiding calibration
of the standard candles.
1Figure 1: Concept design and cosmological reach of GLOC. Left: Three end stations on the surface
of the Moon forming the full triangular-shape GLOC detector. Right: Cosmological reach of GLOC in
comoving coordinates. The concentric circles represent the percentage fraction of the comoving volume of
the observable universe (Vobs = 1.22 × 104 Gpc3 ) out to a given cosmological redshift, with the outermost
being the CMB [2]. The highlighted slices refer to the horizon redshifts in GLOC. For reference, the circle
in the center represents the maximum reach of aLIGO at its design sensitivity for a 100 solar mass binary [3].
Motivation. One of the most challenging frequency range to measure gravitational waves (GWs) is from
deci-Hz to 1 Hz. This range tends to be too low for all the proposed Earth-based gravitational-wave detectors
(like Einstein Telescope [4] and Cosmic Explorer [5]) and too high for the space mission LISA [6], although
DECIGO [7] and other concepts [8, 9] are currently being studied to detect deci-Hz GWs. The universe
offers a rich set of astrophysical sources in this regime [10], whose observations will open unique tests
of general relativity and physics beyond the Standard Model [9]. Here, we are proposing a lunar-based
detector whose primary goal is to access this deci-Hz GW regime [1]. With the advent of NASA’s Artemis
and Commercial Crew programs, the time is ripe to consider fundamental physics experiments on the Moon.
The Moon offers a natural environment for constructing a large-scale interferometer as a GW detector.
The atmospheric pressure on the surface of the Moon during sunrise is comparable to the currently
implemented 8 km ultra high vacuum (10−10 torr) at each of the LIGO facilities [11, 12]. The seismometers
left from the Apollo missions suggests that at low-frequencies (0.1∼5 Hz), the seismic noise on the Moon
is three orders of magnitude lower than on Earth [13]. Seismic noise is a fundamental limitation for the
low-frequency sensitivity of GW detectors on Earth (for example, aLIGO, has seismic wall at . 10 Hz).
The presence of vacuum just above Moon’s solid terrain provides a great benefit in extending the LIGO
interferometer length at minimal cost. Unlike a similar setup on Earth, a lunar-based detector is only
weakly affected by environmental factors or human activities. In the event of a serious hardware failure,
parts of the detector can be replaced and repaired by astronauts. The benefit of performing on-request
maintenance is not available for space-based GW detectors, making the Moon a better long-term
investment. In the next page, we list the top science targets of a lunar-based detector:
2(1) Unprecedented Cosmological Probe. As shown with Fig. 1, the detector would have a rare
advantage of accessing GWs across five orders of magnitude in mass - from sub-solar dark matter
candidates (∼10−1 M ) [14] to stellar mass binaries (∼101−2 M ) to intermediate-mass black holes
(IMBHs, ∼103−4 M ) [15]. Across this mass-range, GLOC’s sensitivity would probe 30 − 80% (redshifts
z∼10 − 100) of the entire observable volume of the universe. This provides an unprecedented
cosmological probe that extends beyond the reach of any electromagnetic telescope other than the cosmic
microwave background (CMB) experiments. While we do not expect stellar objects to exist beyond
z∼70 [16], even one such detection will violate ΛCDM cosmology [17].
(2) Type Ia Supernovae Progenitors. One of the strongest science cases of GLOC is towards studying
Type Ia supernovae (SNe) mechanisms. The access to low-frequency sensitivity (0.1∼1 Hz) enables a direct
discrimination between the single [18, 19] and double degenerate (mergers of two white dwarfs) scenarios
of Type Ia SNe. A joint observation of such an event with GWs and electromagnetic signals can be used to
constrain the unknown masses and explosion mechanism of the white dwarfs. This can potentially reduce the
error budget in using SNe as standard candles. Further, such multi-messenger observations could constrain
cosmological parameters to sub-percent precision.
(3) Dark Matter Search. GLOC can put the tightest bounds on a putative population of sub-solar dark
matter objects (0.1 − 1 M ) [14]. There are no known astrophysical phenomena that can create detectable
GWs at such low-masses, however, primordial black holes or dark matter within neutron star cores offer
possible scenarios [20]. The deci-Hz reach of GLOC allows us to measure the dark matter density of such
exotic objects to 30% of the entire observable volume of the universe (z ∼ 10).
(4) Multi-Messenger Probe for Neutron Star Equation of State. A binary neutron star (BNS) at z ∼ 2
would be in the GLOC band for an entire orbital period of the Moon, while a nearby BNS (like
GW170817 [21]) would be in-band for almost three months. This allow GLOC to constrain BNS to
.10−2 arcmin2 . The sky-localization alert for BNSs can be sent days in advance, allowing readiness of
high-latency electromagnetic followups with reach up to high redshifts. Furthermore, the overall SNR in
GLOC is about an order of magnitude higher than Earth-based detectors, thus providing some of the
strongest tests of general relativity.
(5) Multi-Band Dark Energy Sirens. For a relatively light binary black hole (BBH) like GW151226 [22],
GLOC would start measuring its inspiral a day before the merger. A multi-band observation [23] of these
BBHs between GLOC and a LIGO-like detector on Earth can reduce the sky-location error to 1 arcsec2 ,
namely the angular scale of a single galaxy. These are the tightest constraints on the source location in
GW astronomy, allowing to identify the potential host galaxy without electromagnetic counterparts. This
opens a new population of high redshift dark sirens to independently measure the evolution of the Hubble
parameter as a function of redshift [24]. Furthermore, combining these high redshift dark sirens with GW
lensing would constraint cosmological parameters to increased precision [25].
(6) First Stars and Pair-instability Supernova. The enhanced low-frequency sensitivity permits GLOC
to survey mergers of black holes in the so-called “pair-instability” mass-gap (60 ∼ 120 M ) [26] and
IMBHs practically across the entire universe. Such cosmological reach is crucial for connecting IMBHs
with the Pop-III remnants [27] and the seeds of super-massive black holes [28, 29].
(7) Internal Structure of Gamma Ray Bursts’ Jets. A gravitational-wave detector sensitive slightly
below 1 Hz would be able to probe the acceleration process and the internal angular profile of the ultra-
relativistic jets powered by the central engines of GRBs [30,31]. Such observations can remove degeneracies
between different jet models, and thus constrain estimation of both multi-messenger astronomical events and
of cosmological standard candles [32].
3References
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5Full List of Authors and Affiliations:
Karan Jani (Vanderbilt University) [karan.jani@vanderbilt.edu],
Abraham Loeb (Harvard University) [aloeb@cfa.harvard.edu],
Kelly Holley-Bockelmann (Vanderbilt University) [k.holley@vanderbilt.edu],
Manuel Arca Sedda (Astronomisches Rechen Institut der Universität Heidelberg)
[m.arcasedda@gmail.com],
Nicola Bartolo (University of Padova, Italy) [nicola.bartolo@pd.infn.it]
Nicola Bellomo (University of Barcelona) [nicola.bellomo@icc.ub.edu]
Daniele Bertacca (University of Padova, Italy) [daniele.bertaca@pd.infn.it]
Stéphane Blondin (CNRS/INSU, Laboratoire-Franco Chilien d’Astronomie) [stephane.blondin@lam.fr],
Florian Beutler (University of Edinburgh) [florian.beutler@ed.ac.uk],
Ofek Birnholtz (Bar Ilan University) [ofek.birnholtz@biu.ac.il],
Béatrice Bonga (Radboud University Nijmegen) [bbonga@science.ru.nl],
Marica Branchesi (Gran Sasso Science Institute) [marica.branchesi@gssi.it]
Laurentiu Caramete (Institute of Space Science, Romania) [lcaramete@spacescience.ro]
Pedro R. Capelo (University of Zurich) [pcapelo@physik.uzh.ch],
David Chernoff (Cornell University) [chernoff@astro.cornell.edu],
Carmelita Carbone (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica Milano and INFN Sezione di Milano,
Italy) [carmelita.carbone@inaf.it],
Jose A. R. Cembranos (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) [cembra@fis.ucm.es],
Katy Clough (University of Oxford) [katy.clough@physics.ox.ac.uk]
Geoffrey Compère (Université Libre de Bruxelles) [gcompere@ulb.ac.be],
Giuseppe Congedo (University of Edinburgh) [giuseppe.congedo@ed.ac.uk],
Andrea Derdzinski (University of Zurich, Switzerland) [andrea@ics.uzh.ch],
Daniela Doneva (University of Tübingen) [daniela.doneva@uni-tuebingen.de],
Xiao Fang (University of Arizona) [xfang@arizona.edu]
Pedro G. Ferreira (University of Oxford) [pedro.ferreira@physics.ox.ac.uk]
Robert Fisher (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) [robert.fisher@umassd.edu],
Noemi Frusciante (Instituto de Astrofı́sica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade de Lisboa)
[nfrusciante@fc.ul.pt]
Mandeep S.S. Gill (Stanford University) [msgill@slac.stanford.edu],
Chris Gordon (University of Canterbury) [chris.gordon@canterbury.ac.nz],
Jan Harms (Gran Sasso Science Institute) [jan.harms@gssi.it]
Lavinia Heisenberg (ETH Zurich)[laviniah@phys.ethz.ch],
Daniel Holz (University of Chicago) [qrs@uchicago.edu],
Philippe Jetzer (University of Zürich, Switzerland) [jetzer@physik.uzh.ch],
Albert Kong (National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan) [akong@gapp.nthu.edu.tw],
Savvas M. Koushiappas (Brown University) [koushiappas@brown.edu],
Ryan N. Lang (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) [rlang@mit.edu],
Michele Liguori (University of Padova) [michele.liguori@pd.infn.it]
Lucas Lombriser (University of Geneva) [lucas.lombriser@unige.ch]
Sabino Matarrese (University of Padova) [sabino.matarrese@pd.infn.it],
Charalampos Markakis (Queen Mary University of London & University of Cambridge)
[c.markakis@damtp.cam.ac.uk],
Sean McGee (University of Birmingham) [smcgee@star.sr.bham.ac.uk],
Eugenio Megı́as (University of Granada, Spain) [emegias@ugr.es],
6Cole Miller (University of Maryland) [miller@astro.umd.edu],
David F. Mota (Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo) [mota@astro.uio.no],
David Neilsen (Brigham Young University) [david.neilsen@byu.edu],
Savvas Nesseris (Instituto de Fisica Teorica UAM-CSIC) [savvas.nesseris@csic.es]
Giorgio Orlando (University of Padova) [giorgio.orlando@phd.unipd.it]
Antonella Palmese (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) [palmese@fnal.gov]
George Pappas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) [gpappas@auth.gr]
Vasileios Paschalidis (University of Arizona) [vpaschal@email.arizona.edu],
John Quenby (Imperial College) [j.quenby@imperial.ac.uk]
Sébastien Renaux-Petel (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris) [renaux@iap.fr]
Milton Ruiz (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) [ruizm@illinois.edu]
Martin Sahlén (Uppsala University) [martin.sahlen@physics.uu.se]
Mairi Sakellariadou (King’s College London) [mairi.sakellariadou@kcl.ac.uk]
B.S. Sathyaprakash (Penn State) [bss25@psu.edu]
Olga Sergijenko (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) [olga.sergijenko.astro@gmail.com]
Sarah Shandera (Pennsylvania State University) [ses47@psu.edu]
Lijing Shao (Peking University) [lshao@pku.edu.cn]
Deirdre Shoemaker (University of Texas at Austin) [deirdre@austin.utexas.edu],
Nikolaos Stergioulas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) [niksterg@auth.gr],
Arthur Suvorov (University of Tübingen) [arthur.suvorov@tat.uni-tuebingen.de],
Obinna Umeh (University of Portsmouth) [obinna.umeh@port.ac.uk]
Elias C. Vagenas (Kuwait University) [elias.vagenas@ku.edu.kw],
Yu-Dai Tsai (Fermilab) [ytsai@fnal.gov],
Alasdair Taylor (University of Glasgow) [alasdair.taylor@glasgow.ac.uk],
James Annis (Fermilab) [annis@fnal.gov],
Stoytcho Yazadjiev (Univesity of Sofia) [yazad@phys.uni-sofia.bg],
Petruta Stefanescu (Institute of Space Science - Bucharest) [pstep@spacescience.ro],
Saurya Das (University of Lethbridge) [saurya.das@uleth.ca]
Ovidiu Tintareanu - Mircea (Institute of Space Science - Bucharest) [ovidiu@spacescience.ro]
Miguel Zumalacarregui (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics)
[miguel.zumalacarregui@aei.mpg.de]
Leon Vidal (AstroParticule et Cosmologie - Paris) [leon.vidal@apc.in2p3.fr]
N. Paul M. Kuin (University College London) [n.kuin@ucl.ac.uk]
Daniel Felea (Institute of Space Science - Bucharest) [dfelea@spacescience.ro]
Ashley J Ruiter (University of New South Wales - Canberra) [ashley.ruiter@adfa.edu.au]
Jacob Lange (The Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, Brown
University; Rochester Institute of Technology) [jal7686@rit.edu]
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